Arizona Man Fakes Down Syndrome, Hires Caregivers to Bathe and Change Him

posted by RJ Johnson - @rickerthewriter -

Sep 14, 2018

Police in Arizona say a man who pretended to have Down syndrome and hired caregivers to bathe him and change his diapers has been arrested.

Paul Anthony Menchaca, 31, was arrested last week at his home in Gilbert after several of his female caregivers discovered he didn't have special needs KTNV reported.

Police say Menchaca posted on jobsites as "Amy," a mother looking for a caregiver who would bath and change the diapers of her adult son with Down syndrome.

“’Amy’ asked all three victims to ‘punish’ [Menchaca] when he soiled his diaper by putting him in timeout and taking away his privileges,” an arrest affidavit obtained by AZFamily said.

Investigators say Menchaca's three victims responded to an ad on CareLinx.com, and were hired over the summer at different points. The first caregiver said she bathed and assisted Menchaca at least 30 times.

All three caregivers say Menchaca became aroused during his baths. Court documents reveal that one caregiver recalled at least five "separate incidents when [Menchaca] aggressively said his genitals were not cleaned enough..."

According to the probable cause statement, Menchaca was caught after the first caregiver became suspicious of his behavior and followed him from where she had dropped him off. That's when the first caregiver met Menchaca's actual mother and father, discovering he did not have Down syndrome and didn't actually require diaper changes.

Police arrested him on September 6 on fraud and sexual abuse charges.

On Thursday, the Chandler School District revealed that Menchaca had worked there for the last two years in support staff positions, and that he resigned on August 31.

In a letter sent to parents, Bogle Junior High principal Nathan Fairchild wrote that Menchaca didn't work with students directly without supervision by certified staff.

I’m writing to inform you that Paul Menchaca, a former aide in Ms. DeMann's classroom at Bogle, was arrested last Thursday evening at his home in Gilbert. His arrest was not related to his work with children at Bogle Junior High or any other CUSD school. He resigned the week previous and is no longer employed by the school district. Though his arrest did not involve any of our students, we had previously notified the parents of the classroom where he had worked as an aide and wanted you to be aware as well.

Menchaca is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 17th.